Sunday, August 24, 2014

Wait a Second... Sunset Magazine's Dubious Geography

If you saw Tuesday’s edition of the Times-Standard, you couldn’t have missed the splashy, above-the-fold cover feature about Sunset Magazine's most recent issue featuring Humboldt County on it’s own cover.

The hypish piece was “special to the Times-Standard,” and was essentially a story about the Humboldt County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau’s efforts to help the venerable West Coast culture and travel magazine showcase Humboldt. It’s not that far a stretch. Sunset is based out of the Bay Area and Humboldt County destinations have been featured in it a number of times. And this kind of thing is sort of the CVB's job, right? But while the bureau was patting itself on the back in local media, the five-million-reader Sunset committed an egregious faux pas.

A caption embedded on the magazine’s cover shot of a sparkling colorful beach vista reads “Moonstone Beach, near Trinidad, California.” But, after careful examination by the Journal’s panel of experts, it’s very clear that is, in fact, NOT Moonstone Beach. It’s Luffenholtz Beach, located just a few miles north. So getcher facts straight, Sunset, and, Humboldt County Convention and Vistors Bureau — maybe give your next visitors a better map.

If you're into seeing the local sights showcased on a national stage, Sunset also posted a slideshow from its Humboldt tour to its website (with another geographically questionable title: "Top 24 Sites on California's Lost Coast). You might see someone you know.